Is film-reading performance related to the number of films read? The Scottish experience

AimTo determine whether a drop-off in reading performance occurred with high-volume caseloads in Scotland.Materials and methodsThe reading performance figures for all eligible film readers over a 36 month period were reviewed to determine the number of films read as first and second reader, the recall rates, the cancers detected, and the cancers missed by each reader.ResultsDuring the 3 year period, screen-reading volumes varied from 7009 to 53,598. There were six low-volume readers, 16 medium-volume readers, and 15 high-volume readers (>25,000 cases in the 3 year period). No statistically significant differences were found in the first read specificity or the recall rate between the three groups.ConclusionThe present results do not support the suggestion that reading performance drops off with a three year case volume of greater than 25,000 reads.